Exploiting research at University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, Novasenta has been established with $20m in seed financing.

Novasenta, a US-based developer of cancer treatments, has been formed with $20m in seed capital to advance research at University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and its health system affiliate, UPMC. UPMC Enterprises, the innovation arm of UPMC, contributed to the seed round. No other investors were identified. Founded in 2018, Novasenta is working on immunotherapies targeting the tumour microenvironment. It is based on work by co-founders Dr Robert Ferris, Dario Vignali and Greg Delgoffe, faculty members at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and Pitt. Novasenta is currently working on advancing programmes towards a clinical trial by the end of 2023. Jeanne Cunicelli, president of UPMC Enterprises, said: “As both a caregiver and investor, UPMC is excited about the characteristics that make Novasenta so promising: unmatched clinical and scientific expertise paired with computational innovation have the potential to identify transformative therapies in record time. “The launch of this company will benefit not only our region but cancer patients everywhere.”

Subscribe to go deeper

GCV subscribers get access to all our proprietary data and deep-dive articles, as well as the global directory of CVC investors.



Not sure if you have a subscription?
Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).